On Saturday, January 11, 2014 , our reticulated giraffe Dotty gave birth to a calf we named Daisy (150 lbs, 6ft). Dotty was not interested in her calf. She has never seen a calf before (Dotty was born here at the zoo and is the second youngest female here) and we believe she didn’t quite know what to do after the birth! Our veterinarian made a quick, life saving decision to take her to Tufts so she can get the urgent care she needed. We get constant updates from Tufts and one of us goes up there to check on her each day. Great News! She should be coming home very soon, maybe today! We are really excited and a little bit apprehensive as she is a large calf that will need constant care and attention. However, this is one of the reasons we do what we do. It is amazing to be able to see new lives born and grow into the most beautifully amazing creatures, we are blessed. Thank you to everyone who have been asking about Daisy and her mom. Dotty is doing very well and her milk has dried up so we will have to feed Daisy till she is off formula. Can you keep a secret? We may have another blessed event here at the zoo soon…we’ll keep you updated!

On Saturday January 11, 2014 we welcomed an amazing little female giraffe “Daisy” to the Southwick’s Zoo family. However, right off our veterinarian realized that Daisy needed some immediate attention. Her mother Dotty was not taking an interest in the 150 lb, 6 foot baby and she was getting lethargic and weak. He made the decision to take her to the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine where she would get the specialized care she needed. The first few days were very touch and go as she had a low white blood cell count and fighting an infection. We are happy to report that each day she is getting stronger and hopefully will be back with us soon.

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